Excessive bills - what is draining the power? 22kw standing??!

[{SAS}TB]

Eon have been shambolic - three different "official" stances from three people in the same office

I'm hopefully having the solar panels removed early next year anyway when having building work done so wont be so much of an issue.

They couldn't tell me when smets2 meters were being rolled out either .....

 

[wesimmo]

The whole Smart meter program has been shambolic TBH.

I've worked with or for multiple of the big energy suppliers and have seen the chaos from their side.

EDF are, for example, struggling to get to the target roll out, I plan the staffing levels for the outbound calls they're making to try and get people to migrate. The whole SMET 1/2 thing really screwed the adoption of Smart meters up.

They're dialing people so many times that often you just get "**** off I don't want one, I've told you a dozen times."

 

[BigBoy]

The whole Smart meter program has been shambolic TBH.

I've worked with or for multiple of the big energy suppliers and have seen the chaos from their side.

EDF are, for example, struggling to get to the target roll out, I plan the staffing levels for the outbound calls they're making to try and get people to migrate. The whole SMET 1/2 thing really screwed the adoption of Smart meters up.

They're dialing people so many times that often you just get "**** off I don't want one, I've told you a dozen times."

EDF are my employer and we have smashed our yearly target already, we are also ahead of our first quater roll out.

As for smets1/2 thing yes it's been a right pain in the bum, we still get smets1 jobs as there is no current off peak (seperatly off peak) supply meter for smets2.

It's quite frustrating.

 

[wesimmo]

Really? And you've been rolling Smet2 out for 4 months?

Not sure if that's your internal target or not but certainly we're under increasing pressure to get appointments.

Also, AFAIK, the agents have only recently had the training to talk about SMET2, we are the outsourcer though so you never know what we get told versus in house.

 

[{SAS}TB]

I particularly don't like the increasingly "threatening" language used in their emails around "having" to change my meters - no, you don't - you have targets but it's not a legal requirement for me to do so.

I (as above) got to the point of threatening them to stop pestering me after I twice (allegedly) had it noted on my file that I would consider it once the panels are removed and a smets2 meters could be guaranteed ....

 

[BigBoy]

Really? And you've been rolling Smet2 out for 4 months?

Not sure if that's your internal target or not but certainly we're under increasing pressure to get appointments.

Also, AFAIK, the agents have only recently had the training to talk about SMET2, we are the outsourcer though so you never know what we get told versus in house.

What area are you booking for? I work south west an am an employed supply engineer ( not contractor) our targets are different for the out of area contractors like Amey and Morrison.

 

[BigBoy]

I particularly don't like the increasingly "threatening" language used in their emails around "having" to change my meters - no, you don't - you have targets but it's not a legal requirement for me to do so.

I (as above) got to the point of threatening them to stop pestering me after I twice (allegedly) had it noted on my file that I would consider it once the panels are removed and a smets2 meters could be guaranteed ....

Who is your supplier?

 

[BigBoy]

Double post..

 

[{SAS}TB]

Who is your supplier?

Eon

 

[wesimmo]

What area are you booking for? I work south west an am an employed supply engineer ( not contractor) our targets are different for the out of area contractors like Amey and Morrison.

Yeah we do nationwide, and TBH some weeks we struggle due to lack of appointments available in the areas they've given us data to dial on, not just because people don't want it full stop.

The problem with EDF, like most big corporates I deal with, is they can't plan or forecast, or they deliberately put higher targets on the outsourcer than internally so they can protect their bonuses but kick the outsourcer to death in client meetings.

 

[BigBoy]

Yeah we do nationwide, and TBH some weeks we struggle due to lack of appointments available in the areas they've given us data to dial on, not just because people don't want it full stop.

The problem with EDF, like most big corporates I deal with, is they can't plan or forecast, or they deliberately put higher targets on the outsourcer than internally so they can protect their bonuses but kick the outsourcer to death in client meetings.

That's mad, I've had some weeks where I've been sat at home all day waiting for work on stand by. Then days like Friday where I rock up to customers and get told the appointment was canceled weeks ago...

 

[BigBoy]

Eon

I detest the way companies have persued people, it really makes it difficult to do my job!

The thing that gets me is Smart metering on a whole is not a new thing, three phase metering has been smart for the last 15-20 years! The technology is proven the risks are minimal especially if you already use a mobile phone as essentially that's all it is. A mobile phone strapped to a meter.

The chance of there being issues 99% of the time comes from poor installations. As a company nation wide we have only had 2 incidents where a meter has failed and caused fire and only 1 from a poor installation.

 

[1pudding1]

The solar would vary by day though and wouldnt be constant every day, as it would depend on the solar power and weather, even if it is wired in incorrectly.

What is your heating system? Hot water tank? When you say you turned it off, is there an immersion heater that may have been left on? Thats the only high power user that i can think of that would constantly use that much every day, its a lot! Fridges/freezers/NAS/other general consumer electronics wont use that much per day.

 

[PiKe]

Get a loop energy monitor, infinately more useful than a smart meter in that it recommends cheaper tariffs based on usage.

 

[DarkHorizon472]

As above get a smart meter running and then power everything off checking for example things like the hot water immersion heater are off. This should cut your usage to virtually nothing. A certain way to test is being very careful turn off the main power to the house and see what usage you get. If it is still showing significant usage the meter could be broken or something else is going on. Also bear in mind most of the big utility companies offer poor value for money.

 

[LabR@t]

what is the point of a smart meter?

 

[PiKe]

what is the point of a smart meter?

So the energy companies can eventually go to on demand charging, so at periods of high use, like dinner time, they will charge more p/KW than other times.

Not dissimilar to what Octopus are doing with their 'Agile' tariff.

 

[BigBoy]

So the energy companies can eventually go to on demand charging, so at periods of high use, like dinner time, they will charge more p/KW than other times.

Not dissimilar to what Octopus are doing with their 'Agile' tariff.

Oh my I so wish there was a crying with laughter emoji on here.....


Do you honestly thing the energy suppliers want to be spending billions changing all the meters in the uk? On average it costs £400 to exchange a meter, that does not include major business (have to be done live and are completely custom designed meters) as that can cost £10k just to change the meter!

The benefits to suppliers are so small it's it's outrageous they have to pay for the installations, but thanks to the government and the fines they will levy in 2020 (ish unless it get pushed back) suppliers will have to be pushy and spend the fortune.

 

[PiKe]

You are blinkered if you don't think this is the start of on demand pricing, we don't have unlimited energy and with Toshiba pulling out of plans to build a new power station in Cumbria we are going to have to import more and more energy.

The power companies will get their money back don't you worry, I really don't think it's a great concern for them, prices are only set to rise.

 

[wesimmo]

While they could, no doubt, aid with variable pricing, it's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's certainly not why the energy companies are pushing so hard, it's purely to do with government targets.

The short term costs, as Bigboy has said, are horrendous and the tech wasn't ready in time for those targets to be met while rolling out meters with the capability required. So there will be a second set of costs to roll out SMET2.

We've always had variable pricing with Economy 7 as well.

Yes Smart meters might make it easier to go fully variable, but people being aware of when they're using electricity isn't a bad thing, if it manages to flatten the demand profile it'll be good for everyone, and ultimately the planet.

One of the current issues with green power is the ability to manage peaks and troughs, if we can reduce them it should be easier to manage a green power supply. And if that means I pay a little bit more but my grand children have a planet to live on, then I'm ok with that.